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Wednesday, 10 December 2014

2015 is full of surprises for observers worldwide. A lot of events will take place this year from occultations to eclipses. Among these astronomical phenomena, I point out the total eclipse of the Sun on 20 March, and total lunar eclipse of 28 September. On September 28, 2015 will be a total lunar eclipse. I look forward to see the event. Occultations will take place, 6 in number, between March and Venus, and a lot of conjunctions between the Sun, stars and planets. Conjunction of Mars, Venus and Jupiter on 28 October, I find most interesting. Another important event is that by February, we will be able to see the dwarf planet Ceres images with the help of NASA's Down device.

Take your binoculars or telescope from the closet, because surely, in 2015 you will not have too many pauses between the events that will unfold in the sky.

Astronomical Calendar 2015 astronomical events.

I have gathered here informations about astronomical phenomena of the year 2015 which took me a lot of time and believe me it was not easy to put them together. I hope you'll find interesting this astronomical calendar.

If you want, you can view astronomical calendar in sections you can see:

►January 13, 2015 -Comet C / 2013 G9 (Tenagra) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on April
15, 2013. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►January 14, 2015 - Comet 201P / LONEOS reaches perihelion,
the closest position of the sun. It was discovered 09 August 2001. No
data about its diameter. It has an orbit of 6.47 years.

►January 20, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 13:14 GMT.

►January 21, 2015 - The moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (359643 km from Earth) at 20:06 GMT

►January 21,2015-Mercuryperihelion. The planetwillbe at itsclosest pointto the Sunat 20:00.

►January 21, 2015 -Comet D / 1886 K1 (Brooks) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on May
25, 1886. No data about its diameter. It has an orbit of 5.44 years.

►January 26, 2015 - The asteroid 357439 (2004 BL86)
3.1 Moon distances of our planet. It was discovered on January 30,
2004. Its diameter is 0.4-1 km. It has an orbit of 1.84 years.

►January 27, 2015 - Moon at the first quarter. at 04:48 GMT

►January 30, 2015 - Comet 7P / Pons-Winnecke
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on June 12, 1819. Its diameter is 5.2 km. It has an orbit of 6.37 years.

►January 30, 2015 - Mercury at inferior conjunction. Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun, at 14:00 GMT.

►January 31, 2015 - Asteroid (2008 CQ) 4.8 Moon distances from our planet. It has an orbit of 5.5 years.

►February 2015 - "Dawn" at Ceres. Dawn, NASA's spacecraft will encounter dwarf planet known as Ceres sometime in February 2015. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Because of its size and shape, was officially classified as a dwarf planet, which puts it in the same category as Pluto. Ceres is 950 km in diameter and is large enough to have a round shape. Down will spend several months studying Ceres and will send back the first close ups of the dwarf planet in our Solar System.

►February 3, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
23:09 GMT.

►February 06,2015-Jupiteratopposition.17:00.Jupiterwill be theclosest to Earthanditsfacewill be fullyilluminated by thesun.Anoppositionhappens whena planetisatan elongationof 180°andthusappearsopposite from the Sunin the sky.This isthe best timeto observeJupiter.

►February 16, 2015 - Comet P / 2005 Q4 (LINEAR)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on August 31, 2005. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►February 18, 2015 - Moon at the first quarter. at 17:14 GMT.

►February 18, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 23:47 GMT.

►February 19, 2015 - The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (356992 km from Earth) at 7:29 GMT

►February 22, 2015 - The conjunction of Venus and Mars.
Conjunctions are rare events in which two or more objects will appear
very close together in the night sky. The two bright planets will be
visible only half a degree apart in the evening sky. Look to the west
just after sunset.

►February 24,2015-Mercuryatgreatestelongation: 18.9° W, 16:00

►February 26 2015 - Conjunction Neptune - Sun. At 04:00 GMT.

►March 02, 2015 - Comet 6P / d'Arrest reaches perihelion,
the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on June 28, 1851. Its
diameter is 3.2 km. It has an orbit of 6.54 years.

►March 5, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
18:05 GMT.

►March 06,2015-Mercuryat aphelion.The planetis at the farthestpointfrom the Sunat 20:00.

►March13, 2015 -Moonatthe last quarter. at 17:48 GMT.

►March 13, 2015 - Comet D / 1884 O1 (Bernard) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on July
24, 1884. No data about its diameter. It has an orbit of 5.38 years.

►March 19, 2015 - The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (357584 km from Earth), at 19:38 GMT

►March 20, 2015 - Equinox of March. March Equinox occurs at 22:45 GMT.
The Sun will shine directly on the equator and the days and nights will
be almost equal in the whole world. This is also the first day of
spring (spring equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of
fall (autumnal equinox), in the southern hemisphere.

►March 20, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 09:36 GMT.

►March 20, 2015 - Total eclipse of the Sun, at 09:46. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers only a part of the solar disk and sometimes resembles a bite of a cookie. Total solar eclipse will be visible from Svalbard and the Faroe Islands. The eclipse will be partial to the people of Iceland, Europe, North-East Asia and North Western Africa.
A total solar eclipse can be seen only with a special solar filter or looking at the reflection of the Sun.

►March 21, 2015 - Mars 0.6 ° N Moon at 22:13 GMT. Occultation.

►March 25, 2015 - Comet P / 2008 WZ96 (LINEAR) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on 30
November 2008. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►April 01, 2015 - Comet C / 2012 F3 (PANSTARRS) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on 30
November 2008. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►April 04, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
12:05 GMT

►April 04 2015 - partial eclipse of the Moon mag = 0.996, at 12:01 GMT. Earth will be between the Moon and the Sun and Earth's shadow will cover the lunar disc. The eclipse will be visible in most of North America, Pacific, East Asia and New Zealand.►April 06, 2015 - The conjunction of Uranus and the Sun. 14:00 GMT.

►April 06 2015 - Comet 88P / Howell reaches perihelion,
the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on August 29, 1981.
Its diameter is 4.4 km. It has an orbit of 5.5 years.

►April 08, 2015 - Comet 42P / Neujmin 3
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on August 2, 1929. Its diameter is 2.2 km. It has an orbit of 10.71
years.

►April 10, 2015 - Mercury at superior conjunction. Mercury passes on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth at 04:00 GMT.

►April12, 2015 -Moonatthe last quarter. at 03:44 GMT.

►April 17, 2015 - The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (361026 km from Earth) at 3:53 GMT

►April 18, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 18:57 GMT.

►April 22-23, 2015 - Lyrid meteor shower.Lyridsare meteor showerswithmedium intensity, usually producingabout 20meteors perhour.Thesemeteorscanproducebrightdusttailthattakesa few seconds. Somemeteorsmay bevisiblebetweenApril 16 to 25. First quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving a fairly dark sky, so it could be a good show. Thesemeteorsradiatefromthe constellationLyra, and theirsourceCometThatcher 18611.

►April 25, 2015 - Moon at the first quarter. at 23:55 GMT.

►April 29, 2015 - Moon at apogee. Luna reach the farthest point from Earth (40508 km from the Earth) at 3:55 GMT

►May 4, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
03:42 GMT.

►May 05, 06, 2015 - Eta Aquarid meteor shower. Eta Aquarids usually produce about 10 meteors per hour. The highest
intensity usually take place on 5 and 6. The radiant point is the
constellation Aquarius, and the meteors originates from Comet Halley.
The best observations are usually to the east after midnight, away from
city lights. Almost full Moon will be a big problem this year blocking all the less brighter meteors.

►May 07,2015-Mercuryatgreatestelongation: 21.2°E at05:00 GMT.

►May 08, 2015 - Comet P / 1997 T3 (Lagerkvist-Carsenty)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
05 October 1997. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►May11, 2015 -Moonatthe last quarter. at 10:36 GMT.

►May 15, 2015 - The moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (366024 km from Earth) at 0:23 GMT

►May 17, 2015 - Comet C / 2008 QP20 (LINEAR-Hill) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on April
24, 2003. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►May 18, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 04:13 GMT.

►May 22, 2015 - Comet 57P / Dutoit-Neujmin-Delporte reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on July
18, 1941. No data about its diameter. It has an orbit of 6.42 years.

►May 23, 2015 - Saturn at opposition. Ringed planet will be closest to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun, at 01:00. An opposition is when a planet is at an elongation of 180 ° and thus appears opposite to the Sun in the sky. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons.

►June 13, 2015 - Comet P / 2009 Q4 (Boattini) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on August
26, 2009. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►June 13, 2015 -Comet P / 2010 B2 (WISE)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on January 22, 2010. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►June 13, 2015 - Comet P / 2012 F5 (Gibbs)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on September 17, 2009. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►June 14, 2015 - Conjunction of Mars and the Sun. 15:00 GMT.

►June 15, 2015 - Mercury 0.0 ° N Moon at 02:26 GMT. Occultation.

►June 16, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 14:05 GMT.

►June 21, 2015 - June Solstice. June solstice occurs at 16:38 GMT. North Pole of the Earth will be tilted towards the Sun, which will reach the northernmost position in the sky. This is the first day of summer (summer solstice) on the northern hemisphere, and the first day of winter (winter solstice), in the southern hemisphere.

►June 25, 2015 - Comet P / 2009 WX51 (Catalina) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on
November 22, 2009. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►July 01, 2015 - Comet P / 2008 S1 (Catalina-McNaught) reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on May 2, 2008. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►July 02, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
02:20 GMT.

►July 05, 2015 - The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth (367095 km from Earth), at 18:54 GMT

►July 06, 2015 - Earth at aphelion. Earth reaches the furthest point from the Sun, 1.01668 AU, at 12:59 GMT.

►July 08, 2015 - Moon at last quarter at 10:24 GMT.

►July 14, 2015 - New Horisons at Pluto. New Horisons, NASA's spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Pluto; after a journey of nine and a half years. Launched on January 19, 2006, it will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto. New Horisons will give us our first close view of the dwarf planet and its moons. After the passage of Pluto, the probe will continue to Kuiper Belt to examine some of the other icy bodies at the edge of the Solar System.

►July 16, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 02:24 GMT.

►July 16 2015 - Mercury perihelion. The planet will be at its closest point to the Sun at 19:00.

►August 12, 2015 - Comet P / 2004 R1 (McNaught) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on
September 2, 2004. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►August 12.13, 2014 - Perseid meteor shower.Perseidsare oneof the bestmeteor showersthat produceup to 60meteors perhour attheir peakhours.Radiantpoint isin the constellationPerseus, and the meteors originatesfromthe tailof Swift-Tuttle Comet. Find a placeaway fromcitylightsandlookto the northeastaftermidnight.The moon will not block meteors this year and Perseids are so bright and numerous that it would be a good show.

►August 13, 2015 - Comet P / 2010 K2 (WISE)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on May 27, 2010. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►August 15, 2015 - Comet P / 2009 L2 (Yang Gao)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on June 15, 2009. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►August 14, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 14:53 GMT.

►August 15, 2015 - Venus at inferior conjunction. The planet passes between Earth and the Sun, at 19:00 GMT.

►September 5, 2015 - Neptune opposition at 02:00 GMT.
Neptune will be the closest to Earth and its face will be fully
illuminated by the Sun. An opposition is when a planet is at an
elongation of 180 ° and thus appears opposite to the Sun in the sky.
This is the best time to observe Neptune. Due to its distance, it will
only appear as a tiny blue dot.

►September 5, 2015 - Aldebaran 0.6 ° S of Moon at 05:09 GMT.

►September 13, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 06:41 GMT.

►September 23, 2015 - September Equinox.September Equinox occurs at 08:21 GMT. The Sun will shine directly on the equator. Days and nights will be almost equal in the whole world. This is also the first day of fall (autumn equinox) on the northern hemisphere, and the first day of spring (vernal equinox), in the southern hemisphere.

►September 24, 2015 - Mars 0.7 ° N Regulus at 19:38 GMT.

►September 26, 2015 - Comet P / 1999 J6 (SOHO) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on May
10, 1999. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►September 28, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
02:50 GMT.

►September 28, 2015 - Total lunar eclipse at 02:47 GMT, mag = 1.276. Earth will be between the Moon and the Sun and Earth's shadow will cover all lunar disc. The total lunar eclipse will be visible from most of North America, South America, Europe, West Asia and parts of Africa.
The eclipse will last for 3 hours and 20 minutes from beginning to end. The moon will be eclipsed totally for about 1 hour and 12 minutes.

►September 30, 2015 - Mercury at inferior conjunction. Mercury passes between the Earth and the Sun, at 15:00 GMT.

►October 02, 2015 - Aldebaran 0.5 ° S of Moon at 12:51 GMT.

►October 04, 2015 - Moon at the last quarter, at 21:06 GMT.

►October 08, 2015 - Venus 0.7 ° N Moon at 20:32 GMT. Occultation.

►October 08, 09, 2015 - Draconid meteor shower. Draconid meteor shower is a minor
one only producing about 10 meteors per hour. This is caused by dust
particles left by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was
discovered in 1900. The shower takes place annually between October 6 to
10. Moon at the last quarter this year will block some of the brighter meteors. If you are very patient, you may be able to
observe a few. The best time for viewing will be just after midnight
from a dark location away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from
the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

►October 12, 2015 - Uranus opposition, at 03:00 GMT. Uranus will be the closest to Earth
and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. An opposition is
when a planet is at an elongation of 180 ° and thus appears opposite to
the Sun in the sky. This is the best time to observe Uranus. Due to its
distance, it will only appear as a tiny green-blue dot.

►October 12, 2015 - Mercury perihelion. Mercury reaches the closest point to the Sun, at 18:00.

►October 13, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 00:06 GMT.

►October 21, 2015 - Comet P / 2001 H5 (NEAT) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on March
20, 2001. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►October 21,22, 2015 - Orionid meteor shower.Orionidsarea meteor showerofmedium intensity,which producesabout 20meteors perhour.Agood view is in anymorningfromOctober 20 to 24. The best cardinal pointto seewillbetothe eastafter midnight. Orionidsoriginates fromComet Halley.This year will be great for Orionids as Moon sets after midnight and the sky will not interfere with the show.

►October 23, 2015 - Comet P / 2007 V2 (Hill)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on October 14, 2007. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►October 24, 2015 - Comet P / 1994 N2 (McNaught-Hartley) reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered 05 July 1994. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►October 25, 2015 - Comet 22P / Kopff reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on
August 22, 1906. Its diameter is 3.0 km. It has an orbit of 6.45 years.

►October 26, 2015 - The conjunction of Venus and Jupiter.
Conjunctions are rare events in which two or more objects will appear
very close together in the night sky. The two bright planets will be
visible in 1 degree apart in the early morning sky. Look to the east
just before sunrise.

►October 27, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
12:05 GMT.

►October 28 2015 - Conjunction Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
Conjunctions are rare events in which two or more objects will appear
very close to the night sky. The three planets will form a tight
triangle 1 degree in the morning sky. Look to the east just before
sunrise.

►October 28, 2015 - Comet P / 2005 RV25 (Lone-Christensen)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on September 11, 2005. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►October 30, 2015 - Aldebaran 0.6 ° S of Moon at 22:45 GMT.

►November 03, 2015 - Moonatthe last quarter, at 12:24 GMT.

►November 06, 2015 - Comet P / 2008 Y2 (Gibbs)reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on
December 1, 2008. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►November 11, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 17:47 GMT.

►November 12,13, 2015 - Taurid meteor shower.Taurids
are a long time minor meteor shower, producing only about 5 to 10
meteors per hour. It is unusual that it consists of two separate
streams. The first is produced by dust particles of asteroid 2004 TG10. The second current is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke.
The shower takes place annually between October 20 to December 10. This
year the maximum is on the night of November 12. The new Moon will not block the meteors. If you are very
patient, you may be able to observe a lot of them. The best time for viewing
will be just after midnight from a dark location away from city lights.
Meteors will radiate from the constellation of Taurus, but can appear
anywhere in the sky.

►November 14, 2015 - Comet 10P / Tempel 2 reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on July
3, 1873. Its diameter is 10.6 km. It has an orbit of 5.38 years.

►November 17, 2015 - Mercury at superior conjunction. Mercury passes on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth at 15:00 GMT.

►December 10, 2015 - Comet P / 2002 Q1 (Van Ness) reaches
perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered on August
17, 2002. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

December 11, 2015 - New Moon. Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 10:29 GMT.

►December 13,14, 2015 -Geminid meteor shower- is consideredby manyto bethe best meteor shower on the sky. Geminidsare knownto produceup to 60multicoloredmeteorsper hourattheirpeak. Mostusuallyappearon, or around13 byDecember and14,although somemeteorsshould bevisiblebetween06 and19 December.Theyradiatefrom theconstellationGemini andoriginates from theasteroid3200Phaeton. This year, the new Moon will not block the meteors, and Geminids are so brilliant and it would be a good show.The bestobservation isto the eastafter midnightin adarkarea.

►December 22, 23, 2015 - Ursid meteor shower. Ursids are a minor meteor shower which produces only about 5 to 10 meteors per hour. This is caused by dust left by the comet Tuttle,
which was discovered in 1790. The shower is happening annually from
December 17 to 26. This year, the maximum will occur on the night of 22. The best observations are after
midnight, in a dark area., Away from city lights. Meteors will radiate
from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

►December 23, 2015 - Aldebaran 0.7 ° S of Moon at 19:09 GMT.

►December 25, 2015 - Full Moon.
The earth will be between the Sun and the Moon, and therefore, the Moon
will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at
11:11 GMT.

►December 26, 2015 - Comet P / 1998 QP54 (Lone-Tucker)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on August 2, 1998. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.

►December 31, 2015 - Comet C / 2013 C2 (Tenagra)
reaches perihelion, the closest position of the sun. It was discovered
on February 14, 2013. No data yet about its orbit or diameter.